# Actuator Design Engineer

**Company:** [OpenAI](https://hotfix.jobs/companies/openai)
**Location:** San Francisco, CA
**Role:** Hardware Engineering
**Salary:** $342k – $445k/yr
**Experience:** 7+ years
**Skills:** mechanical engineering, electromechanical systems, robotic actuators, motors, transmissions, encoders, thermal management, CAD, Nx, plm, precision mechanical integration, DFM, reliability testing, failure analysis
**Posted:** 2026-08-11

> Lead architecture, design, and integration of custom robotic actuators including motors, transmissions, sensing, and thermal systems for advanced robotics. Requires 7+ years designing electromechanical systems and strong hands-on prototyping and validation experience.

## Job Description

## Responsibilities
- Lead the architecture, design, and integration of custom robotic actuators, including motors, transmissions, sensing, thermal systems, structural components, and packaging.
- Define actuator requirements and system-level trade studies around torque density, bandwidth, efficiency, thermal performance, backdrivability, inertia, reliability, manufacturability, and cost.
- Design precision electromechanical assemblies with strong attention to tolerances, alignment, load paths, thermal expansion, sealing, wear, and serviceability.
- Drive actuator integration into robotic systems, partnering closely with controls, firmware, electrical, and robotics software teams to optimize closed-loop performance.
- Develop and evaluate architectures with integrated sensing and encoder strategies.
- Build and validate prototypes through hands-on bring-up, debugging, characterization, and iterative refinement.
- Develop test methodologies and characterization infrastructure for actuator performance, reliability, durability, and failure analysis.
- Analyze test data to identify limitations, failure modes, and opportunities for design improvement.
- Collaborate with manufacturing and supplier partners to transition designs from prototype to scalable production-ready assemblies.
- Support DFM, DFA, DFT, calibration, and assembly strategies for electromechanical subsystems.
- Contribute to actuator sourcing strategy, vendor qualification, prototype builds, and supply-chain development.
- Document designs, interfaces, validation results, and engineering decisions to support long-term maintainability and production readiness.
- Help establish engineering standards, integration practices, and development workflows for future robotic platforms.

## Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, Mechatronics, or a related field.
- 7+ years of experience designing electromechanical systems, robotic actuators, or precision mechatronic hardware.
- Experience developing actuators for robotics, automation, aerospace, automotive, or other high-performance dynamic systems.
- Strong understanding of motors, transmissions, bearings, encoders, structural design, thermal management, and precision mechanical integration.
- Familiarity with actuator sensing architectures, including encoder integration and calibration strategies.
- Experience designing for prototype and production manufacturing processes including machining, casting, molding, and assembly.
- Proficiency with CAD and PLM tools such as NX and Teamcenter or equivalent systems.
- Experience developing validation plans, reliability testing, and failure analysis workflows.

## Nice-to-Haves
- Experience scaling hardware systems from prototype through EVT/DVT/PVT and into production.

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